Naomi was ready to move back to Judah from Moab. Her two daughters-in-law were also ready to go with her. Naomi had thought about the ramifications for these two women whom she loved, and she let them go. She told them to return to their mother’s home. She encouraged them to remarry and have a family. What would their reaction have been if they had not liked their mother-in-law? I think it would have been far different from what has been recorded of that scene in the book of Ruth.

(NASB) Ruth 1:14 “And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.”

***What a reaction of love for Naomi. How hard this must have made it for her to go on with her plans. She was loved and respected.

Orpah showed her respect and love and went back to her mother’s house.

Ruth loved Naomi and she chose to cling to her.

Orpah:

A question that can be asked: Have you lovingly released another, knowing that they may truly leave?

If there has been a “˜parting of the ways’ because you were not willing that another should leave…what do you need to do to repair that relationship? Naomi did a hard thing…both of those women had been her two sons’ wives. She had dealt with her husband’s death, then the death of her two sons, now she was dealing with the separation of a loved daughter-in-law, Orpah.

Ruth

A question that can be asked: Have you wisely loved others when you received their commitment to you, to stay with you?

To receive another is to do so with open arms.

In following Christ, we each have choices to make.

Like Orpah, we can choose to turn from following Christ Jesus by the way we live. Oprah went back to her family and her gods. If we are living in such a way that God has said is not to be done, then we are not in a right relationship with Him, the living God of the Bible. No matter what words we use or how we “˜twist’ our thoughts to make them sound good to our own ears, we have made a choice. Orpah’s commitment was not to the living God.

Like Ruth, we can choose to follow Christ Jesus, making a commitment to Him, to receive Him as our Savior. Ruth went on to Judah. You and I have choices we make, to follow Christ today or not. We can be “˜nice’ people but not be a member of God’s family. Orpah chose not to be a part of God’s people, Ruth did. Have you?

Your prayer is important and it is to be in agreement with what God says in the Bible.